Best cake of the multiverse!
by Rufus Shinra SFFS
Summary: Akemi Homura is finally free. She can go to Heaven. To Madoka. But, well, goddesses must pass time while waiting for their chosen one, too. Homura, meet Madoka's friends! Or, as described on SB: "Even when you're a goddess, you can never find a fourth..."
1. Welcome to heaven!

Akemi Homura was finally free. Free of duty, free of pain. Free to finally rejoin She who saved all the other Puella Magi. Saved? Save? Will save? Even as a former time traveller, she still had some trouble to grasp the being Madoka Kaname had become after all her failed efforts to save Her. She was Hope, that much was certain, as well as being the end waiting for every Puella Magi ever.

And now, as the last human being left Earth behind to travel among the stars, she fought her last battle at Mitakihara, where everything began. During her "life", she went around the world, visiting every country, saw civilizations rise, shine and crumble, always here to tell the story of the one who refused to accept the universe as it was, who changed everything to help those who were hopeless.

With time, she almost forgave Kyubey and those it represented as they resumed doing the best they could for their own species, for the universe at large, but she never forgot the face of her Goddess, of the one who she dedicated her life for.

The One who was finally coming down to bring her to everlasting peace.

The demons around her stood still, the black-haired girl not knowing if they were doing so in respect for the being appearing into their midst or if time itself was frozen. The weak smile of the dying Puella Magi was answered by a bright, happy smile of the Goddess for an everlasting instant, and both finally disappeared.

Akemi Homura took some time to watch around her, taking account of her surroundings. Her senses were telling her the place she was in could not be, her instincts told her everything she needed to know about the strange building under a perfect blue sky, and, finally, her memories simply told her she was where she should always have been.

_Heaven… Madoka?_ she thought slowly, recognizing the city where both of them met an untold number of times.

Mitakihara was standing before her eyes, and she watched with surprise the school where she was enrolled during the loops. A part of herself told her all the other Puella Magi were here, that she would meet them, share their stories and finally [i]be[/i], but before that, she had to meet the One who made all of it possible.

She knew exactly where she would find Her, and left the school to the home where She lived at the time. An instant later, Homura found herself in front of said house, with the memories of walking through the city while knowing she left a second before. She blinked a few times, then resumed, gently opening the door in front of her. A voice greeted her from the top floor, Her voice:

- We're upstairs, Homura-chan!

Feeling her heart beat faster by the second, although she knew she was technically dead, she walked as calmly as possible to the stairs, climbing them to her final destination. To Her.

The girl with pink hair was waiting for her at the end, and when Homura finally saw Her face, she finally let go her emotions, releasing tears after an eternity of endless battles.

- Welcome home, she said softly to the Puella Magi, hugging her softly.

- Madoka-sama…

- Please, we're together, don't call me like that…

- It's been too… too long. I… I…

- I know, answered the Goddess, putting a finger on Homura's lips. I know.

The two of them stood in front of each other during some time, and finally Madoka broke the silence:

- Come, I need to introduce you to the others!

- The others…? asked Homura.

_She must mean the other Puella Magi…_

The Goddess walked the dark-haired girl to another room and told her to go in. Without hesitation, Homura did so and froze.

She saw wars, even nuclear ones. She saw Puella Magi become obsessed with their power and destroy everything and everyone around them. She saw a Kyubey twitch slightly to a joke (even though she was still unsure about seeing that). Thus, she reacted clearly to the scene in front of her:

- What.

What looked like a white winged unicorn with a multicolored mane was sitting at a table with cards floating in front of… it? Him? Her?

- Oh, you must be Akemi Homura, said the unicorn with a sweet feminine voice. Madoka told us a lot about you.

- What.

- Where are my manners? told her the large being. Excuse me, I know you but you probably have not heard of me. My name is Celestia.

- What.

- Celestia here is a friend, said Madoka's voice behind her. She's a… goddess from another universe, but is nice enough to visit me from time to time.

- My dear, answered Celestia. It is my pleasure to come here. I know of no other place where one can find such company and… if I dare… such magnificent cake.

- Thank you, Celestia, on the behalf of Mami. I'll be sure to tell her about that.

- Really, said another voice from the corridor. She _is_ a superb cook.

Homura, obeying her reflexes, turned her head toward the new voice, to find its origin: a young woman of divine beauty yet wearing simple clothes. The Puella Magi automatically took note of her characteristic signs, such as the small blue sigils on her face. The woman was carrying a plate with four cups of tea and handed her one. Homura, in autopilot, accepted the gift and sipped the hot liquid to find herself transported to a heaven inside heaven.

- What.

She couldn't say anything more, her senses telling her she was drinking perfection made into tea as Madoka took another cup herself:

- Thank you, Belldandy, the goddess said before turning towards Homura, still smiling. So, would you like to join us? We're missing a player for today's game.

- What.


	2. Meet the followers!

The best cake in the Multiverse, part 2

- Ah-ha! Full hoof!

Homura watched the purple unicorn show proudly her cards to the rest of the players and let hers fall face down on the table, admitting victory. At her left, the human, who introduced himself as Keiichi, shrugged and pushed his small pile of yen towards the quite large gold coins –bits, as the unicorn called them– imitated by Homura herself soon after, who pushed some of her gems toward the round's victor.

With her telekinesis, Twilight took another sip of her cider glass before turning towards the small, purple and green, dragon who was holding a book open for her, looking bored:

- I told you this would be great, Spike. It was in "_Poker: a guide to friendship, easy bits and great hangovers_"! Although I'm not quite sure about the last part…

_Foal's Guide to the Winning Hoof_, read the Puella Magi on the cover of the dragon-held book. _I'm still not sure this kind of help should be permitted…_

After some seconds of thinking, she also shrugged, knowing letting the unicorn win at poker with a book apparently written by a game-addicted Pegasus was not the first of her problems. No, this dubious honor was to remember exactly how she let Madoka-sama talk her into accompanying her guests home. Or how exactly was their group split again soon after entering inside that temple.

The good thing was that the owner, apparently the local goddess' boyfriend, was so jaded with his universe's surnatural he welcomed the winged Puella Magi without a second thought and only raised an eyebrow for a few seconds when the unicorn came through a portal with her dragon.

- Your turn, said Twilight with a purpose in her eyes. And don't try to cheat, stranger, I've got my eyes on you.

When Keiichi looked at her with some kind of amused surprise, she defended herself:

- It's in the book! Look!

Surrounded by a purple aura, the book indeed began to float out of the dragon's hands… paws? Anyway, the book stopped in mid-air in front of the human's eyes, who read out loud:

- "The world of poker is dangerous and without pity or remorse. Everypony else is going to make their absolute best to cheat you out of your hard-earned bits until you cannot even buy that last round of so-delicious-it's-awesome cider. Make sure they understand you won't be the foal around _this_ table." Huh-huh. Twilight, I think your book is… exaggerating. On the other hand, if Urd comes to play after her show is over…

- Who's she? asked the unicorn, eager to learn even more about this strange world full of bipeds.

- Technically? The goddess of the past and my sister-in-law. Or that what she wants to become. But here, she's more like the personification of pure and undeterred chaos.

- Like Discord? panicked Twilight. I must warn Celestia, I must… I must…

She began leaving her seat when the small dragon stopped her:

- Twi, I'm sure Princess Celestia wouldn't have led us here if there was something like Discord free.

- But, but it could…

She was interrupted by the next hand of cards sliding on the table towards her while Keiichi looked at Homura:

- So, you're working with Peorth? Or maybe with Lind? Yeah, probably that.

- Excuse me? answered the Puella Magi, not understanding what he was talking about.

- White wings, so… probably goddess here. And you look like someone who's been fighting for a long time, so, Lind. But, honestly, you make me think of Peorth when she Whelsper got her. Good times… Well, not for her.

- I am not who you think I am, she answered. The only goddess I know of is Madoka-sama, and I am not from your world.

- OK.

- I do not think you understand, Morisato-san. I come from another universe altogether.

- That's not a problem. I've been hit on by a transdimensional flying whale, once, so, you know… Want another card?

- Oh, oh, said Twilight. It's the time when everypony tries to impress the other to prove they're the fastest pegasi out there!

- Excuse me? asked Homura.

- Chapter seven! answered eagerly the unicorn, shoving once again her open book in her adversaries' faces. _Establishing psychological superiority over those pitiful foals._ You see, it's exactly like that!

- … I see. Two cards, please.

She loved Madoka-sama, there was no doubt about it, but she really had to stop doing that…


End file.
